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Mettenheim
__NOEDITSECTION__ “Never before has so much blood been shed over such a barren piece of rock as Mettenheim, populated solely by pirates and ruffians.” – Conquistador Diego of Barclay Introduction Their origin stated to be from a volcano far from Pendorian lands, the Mettenheim are the best blacksmiths. Their ships, termed the "Ironclad" by the people of Pendor are a sight to be marveled. Even the Noldor are in awe of the Mettenheim's understanding of metallurgy. Their foot units don the heavy and almost impregnable plate armor they produce. Their greatswords can tear through even the heaviest plate armors like butter. The Mettenheim do not ride horses, and though rumors claim that the horses' faces remind the Mettenheim men too much of their own wives, in reality the terrain in Mettenheim is unsuitable to raise and maintain a cavalry force of any notable size. Mettenheim also possesses a knighthood order, the Forlorn Hope, though the player cannot join this order in-game. Joined by older men who have little to live for, they wield Greatswords and Zweihanders to great effect, despite their declining strength. They don the heavy and powerful Forlorn Hope Plate armor to protect them from ranged fire until they can get up close to their foes. Upon reaching their enemies, they can easily cleave through infantry and horses alike with their mighty swords. Frederick is a prominent member, who was the lone survivor of his regiment after they were shipwrecked and the remaining forces slaughtered by the Snake Cult. Their faction color is ' dark khaki'. Troops It is important to know that Mettenheim Avonteurers are considered Mercenaries, and they will appear in taverns (in packs ranging from 2 to 9) hoping to be recruited, but this also doubles their wages. This penalty is removed once the troop is upgraded. They are also sold by the Red Brotherhood on a 10 chance in groups of 15 to 19 for a price of 114 denars each. Mettenheim Forlorn Hope are elite troops and can't be obtained nor seen with ease. To directly obtain a few of these, you can either recruit them from Frederick of Mettenheim (from either sending him to gather Right to rule or to recruit troops) or through the Heartbeat Problem 14 (see below). Spawns Mettenheim makes several appearances in Pendor. The first army is Mettenheim Expeditionary Force and is made of: * 20-60 Mettenheim Forlorn Hope * 20-40 Mettenheim Hauptmann * 50-100 Mettenheim Greatsword * 50-100 Mettenheim Regular Infantry * 50-100 Mettenheim Regular Crossbow Secondly, the Freikorps Mettenheim, a big warband that can't be called army due the quality of its troops: * 4-8 Mettenheim Hauptmann * 50-100 Mettenheim Regular Infantry * 50-100 Mettenheim Regular Crossbow Helping the expeditionary forces in battle will improve relations with Mettenheim, as they are initially hostile to the player (-10 relation). These may be encountered anywhere and appear to spawn randomly around the map. [[Obrist Heynrich|'Obrist Heynrich']] is Mettenheim's unique spawn, but he doesn't belong to the Mettenheim faction, but the Mettenheim Renegades faction. [[The Freybrueder|'The Freybrueder']] is Mettenheim's mercenary company. Relations Mettenheim doesn't have any alliances with anyone and they are a lesser Hateful faction. They are neutral to all Knighthood Orders except for Order of the Lion and Order of Eventide, both being at odds with Mettenheim. They have wary (-10) relations with the 5 major kingdoms and the player. Companions Frederick of Mettenheim is a commoner Companion from Mettenheim, and upon making him vassal, he will train mostly Mettenheim troops, as well as some Pendor low and medium tier troops (to see his special template, check his page). Upon sending him to gather Right to rule, he will bring Mettenheim troops. Also, when the player asks him for troops (player can ask once a week to a companion) he will bring in Mettenheim troops. To know more about this, check here. Mercenaries The Heartbeat Problem 14 will grant the player the chance to gain a large of troops from 6 different minor factions, one of these being Mettenheim. If player pays 10k, he gets: Regular Infantry: 50-80. Regular Crossbow: 10 to 40. Hauptmann: 5-15. Forlorn Hope: 1-4. If player pays 12k, he may get (else, the one above): Regular Infantry: 60-90. Regular Crossbow: 12 to 70. Hauptmann: 10-20. Forlorn Hope: 1-6. History of Mettenheim 'History of Aysenburg' No-one knows when exactly the volcanic island of Aysenburg was settled. The first recorded encounters had Aysenburg already host to a small trade post. Ships belonging to the Baccus Empire would frequently use the island to resupply on their trips to Barclay and Pendor. 196 - The true potential of the island was not realized until the Fierdsvain Lords of Pendor discovered large iron deposits in the mountains of Aysenburg. This prompted the Baccus Empire to create a permanent colony there, funded through imperial funds. This would grow to become the capital known as IJzerstat. 198 - 'When Pendor fell just two years later, the known world fell into chaos. Barclay and the Baccus Empire went to war with each other in an attempt to fill the power vacuum left by Pendor. Aysenburg was an obvious target of strategic importance to both great powers. The large quantities of iron were vital to the Baccus military effort, and Barclay badly wanted to deprave Baccus of this asset. A number of battles were fought on Aysenburg soil to this end. '''203 - '''Barclay finally beat Baccus to a stalemate and an uneasy truce was signed between them. Baccus then cast their eye at the war-torn Pendor, determined to keep their veteran armies in good use. A year later the invasion of Pendor was launched under the command of General Oasar. '''204 - '''Several months later the colonists of Aysenburg discovered that the Emperor of the Baccus Empire had been assassinated. A week after this the garrison was recalled back home in order to quell a mounting uprising in the Baccus homeland. '''205-214 - '''For several years Aysenburg became its own autonomous state, having lost contact with their imperial administration. During this time Aysenburg opened their borders to allow free immigration, and enjoyed an economic boom as refugees from Baccus and Pendor fled to the safety of the island, and found work in the many mines. Artisans from Barclay also emigrated in order to utilize the plentiful raw materials being mined. This all contributed to the burgeoning metallurgy industry the island played host to. '''215 -' Unfortunately Vanskerry raiders had stepped up their raiding following their dismissal as mercenaries for the Baccus Empire. In time they discovered the lucrative trade being done in Aysenburg, and in need for more weapons and armor for their forays to Pendor began a series of systematic raids. Without a standing army Aysenburg was powerless to prevent these incursions, the people running to hide in the mines at the first sight of any Vanskerry ships. '''Aysenmontana : a province of Barclay 216-219 - 'The citizens sent a diplomatic overture to Barclay, offering trade deals in exchange for military protection. A contingent of Knights of the Dawn soon arrived and the Vanskerry attacks were stopped and Aysenburg once again became a hub for trade. Next a wave of governors and officials arrived from Barclay and the island was adopted into their empire as a province. Barclay soon found itself in the enviable position of being the sole regional power due to the internal troubles in Baccus and Pendor. '''220 - 'Barclay themselves were not immune to internal struggles as the Orders of Dawn and Eventide openly waged war against each other, and the purges led by the Order of Dawn had rapidly increased in scope and ruthlessness. Although the people of Aysenburg played lip service to their garrison of Knights of Dawn, they were non the less targeted for breaches of any law. One of the most respected merchants was executed for the sale of “inflammatory artifacts”. In retaliation the citizens of Aysenburg declared an embargo on the Order of Dawn. As the Order was preparing to do Astrea's will in return for this insult, they were called back to Barclay in force to combat the rising Order of Eventide threat. '221-224 - '''Once again left without a defensive army the people of Aysenburg requested permission from the Barclay crown to raise their own army. The King inundated by the situation at home, and casting a wary eye towards the growing strength of the Snake Cult in Baccus, agreed. 'Mauritz Van Mettenheim '''225-229 - '''The citizens of Aysenburg raised a defense tariff on exports which financed the creation of their own armed forces. A brilliant young merchant known as Mauritz van Mettenheim was elected to oversee the creation of the army. He was a well educated and prudent man who decided to raise an army based on the theories of the old Baccus Empire on heavy infantry tactics, combined with the doctrine of Barclay on the use of crossbowmen. The island was hilly and well defensible, but not able to support horses, so Mauritz abandoned any notion of maintaining a cavalry force. Instead he equipped the core of his army with two handed swords capable of dismounting a fast moving horseman. Knowing that he had the administrative ability but not trusting his battlefield experience he recruited an old mercenary captain by the name of Wolfgang as his field commander. '''230 - '''After nearly five years of preparation and training, Azi Dahaka finally sent her minions at Aysenburg. Once the ships were spotted, urgent messages where sent to Barclay but they came at the height of the troubles between the warring Orders and were ignored. There was to be no relief from Barclay. Mauritz and his new army found themselves forging their destiny alone against the Snake Cult host. The island had no navy due to the lack of wood, and the Barclay fleet was preparing to ship the Order of Dawn across to Pendor. The first few weeks were spent in a game of cat and mouse, the snake cult army trying to force a landing and being denied. Eventually however they managed to disembark and first major set piece battle saw the inexperienced soldiers of Aysenburg, led by Wolfgang face the massed ranks of the Snake Cult. The battle was a disaster, and the Aysenburg soldiers were soon in full retreat. Mauritz desperately tried to keep his army together and to hamper the advance of the Snake Cult. In due time however the Snake Cult army was at the walls to the capital; IJzerstat. A fleet of fishing boats were assembled and an evacuation of the island prepared, however a number of soldiers would have to remain behind to hold the line while the rest escaped. Mauritz gave one of his most impassioned speeches where he called on volunteers to become “the shining light, a last beacon of fortune, and to become, the forlorn hope of Aysenburg”. The entire army answered his rallying call and Mauritz chose to take the field himself and prepared a number of experimental tactics, which would later be called revolutionary. The battle was joined and the forces under Mauritz employed a creeping barrage, through firing rank by rank, keeping up a continuous barrage of bolts into the enemy until the great swordsmen had gained enough distance to do their damage. It was the first victory for the people of Aysenburg, from here they were able to hold for an entire year until relief finally arrived from Barclay, and they together routed the Snake Cultists. '''232 - '''The people of Aysenburg were furious with the late intervention of Barclay and clamors for independence reached a new high. The people turned to their new hero, Mauritz but he wouldn’t commit against Barclay, and managed to keep some semblance of order. Barclay then imposed a War Tax to raise more troops to fight against the Snake Cult, however the people of Aysenburg found themselves burdening the majority of the cost. Tempers once again flared, and Barclay worried that the army in Aysenburg would launch a coup ordered their move to Barclay. The people of Aysenburg however saw it as a panicked attempt by the nobility to protect their precious castles and fiefs. Mauritz went to meet with the new governor imposed by Barclay to try to broker a deal to keep the military in place, however he was instead arrested for treason. He was locked up, and ready to be shipped to Barclay when Wolfgang and a cadre of veterans calling themselves the Forlorn Hope released him. Mauritz immediately called for the removal of all Barclay personnel from Aysenburg and seized control of the government. A week later the King of Barclay received the official declaration of independence from the new nation of Mettenheim. Mb109.jpg|Mettenheim Regular Crossbowmen Mb97.jpg|The Forlorn Hope Mettenheim Greatsword and Mettenheim Hauptmann.jpg|Mettenheim Greatswords and Hauptmanns ready for battle Category:Minor Factions Category:Mettenheim Category:Troop trees